Political commentator Angela Rye said on CNN that “white people” should be held “responsible for not showing up to save our democracy” if they don't vote for Vice President Kamala Harris next month. did.
In an interview on “First of All” on Saturday, CNN host Victor Blackwell said former President Barack Obama supported Harris, given polls showing that black men were more likely to support the former president. He was referring to the backlash he received after scolding a black man for not supporting his presidential campaign more. Comparison between President Trump and previous years.
Blackwell said President Obama's appearance in Arizona the day before was “his first since he was in Pittsburgh, appealing to black men to support his vice president and raising the possibility of sexism.” I started out. “There has been so much backlash to that framework that we should change course? Was what the former president did wrong and said what he said publicly wrong?”
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Former President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event supporting Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on October 10, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. (Reuters/Quinn Grabicki)
Lai quickly turned the conversation away from the former president and shifted his focus to “white people.”
“Frankly, I think it's great that President Obama is starting on the path to democracy. And I think the mistake is that he didn't show up to save our democracy. “It's an escape from the responsibility that white people have to face,” she said.
President Obama calls on “brethren” who are concerned about voting for Harris: “Are you thinking about not voting?”
“They probably want to be angry at presidential candidates when they don't see them wearing flag lapel pins or pledging allegiance to the flag,” Lai continued. “That's what they want to be angry about. Right now, the face of patriotism for them looks like trying to destroy the Capitol in the terrorist attack on January 6, 2021.”
“The responsibility to save democracy should lie with the largest demographics in this country: white men and white women. If something goes wrong, we won't see the Women's March in Pussy Hats in January. I don't want to see them marching to the polls themselves…''
She concluded, “We're all doing our part. It's time for white people to vent their anger, to look out for each other, and to make sure we're doing our part, too.”
Former US President Barack Obama is trying to persuade black men to support Harris during the election campaign. (Michelle Gustafson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
During a pre-campaign stop in Pittsburgh last week. obama He appears to be admonishing black Americans who have not been as enthusiastic about supporting Harris' presidential bid as they were in 2008 and 2012.
“We still haven't seen the kind of vibrancy and turnout that we saw when I was running in every corner of our neighborhoods and communities,” Obama said.
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“Now, I would also like to say that it seems to be more pronounced among the brothers, but if you don't mind, I just want to talk to you all about something. This is a noble choice. On the other hand, If you have someone who grew up like you and went to college with you, they will understand the struggle. [and the] The pain and joy that come from that experience…
President Obama then went on to contrast that vision (presumably Harris's) with that of former President Trump, according to some reports.
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The 44th president also said many people concerned about Harris are coming up with “all kinds of reasons and excuses” to sit home or support another candidate.
”[P]This art makes me think, and I'm speaking directly to the men…well, you just don't feel the idea of having a woman as president, and there are other alternatives and others for that matter. I am trying to come up with a reason for this. ”
According to New York Times/Siena College Poll It was announced last week that Harris now holds 78% of the black vote, which is down from 2020, when President Biden won about 90% of that voting bloc. It's also down from 2016, when Hillary Clinton won about 92% of the black vote. Harris' support among black men has declined even more significantly, according to the report, with 70% saying they would vote for her in November, down from 85% for Biden in 2020. did.
FOX News' Charles Crates contributed to this report.
